


Cast a Spell On My Heart

by lucy_wf



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Angst, Kaiba is a Skeptic... obviously, M/M, Prideshipping, atem is a witch, more magical peeps will show up as the story continues, no beta we die like men, will add more characters and tags as they show up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-11
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-04-21 16:22:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14288784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucy_wf/pseuds/lucy_wf
Summary: Kaiba is reluctantly dragged to a witch's shop by a very enthusiastic Mokuba. In the midst of all his eye-rolling, it's a miracle he even notices the handsome man behind the counter - but from the moment he does, he can't seem to take his eyes of the so-called "witch". Not that that's going to affect his skepticism toward witchcraft.[NEXT UPDATE: 26/09/18]





	1. The Witch's Shop

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: While I am the author of this fic, the AU concept is NOT mine. The idea for witch!Atem belongs to @card-gays on tumblr. Go check out her blog!
> 
> (by the way, i do know the title is just lame. i'm sorry.)

“Mokuba, tell me again where you’re dragging me to.”

“A witch’s shop! My friend told me it was one of the coolest places he’s ever been to!”

Kaiba scoffed. Mokuba had recently picked up a strange interest in magic and the such, for some inexplicable reason. He was _really_ enthusiastic about it. Kaiba? Not so much. “A witch. Really. I thought you already knew my opinion on this subject.”

“Aw, come on, nii-sama.” Mokuba looked up at him with those big, sad puppy-eyes of his. Kaiba knew it was no accident; his little brother was way more cunning than he looked. “I know you’re a skeptic and stuff, but it’ll be fun! I bet you’ll even find something you like.”

“Tsch. I doubt it.” Still, he let Mokuba lead the way, and did his best to keep up with the overly-energetic kid.

Soon enough, they had arrived in front of the shop. It wasn’t very impressive, at least from the outside. It was small, squished between a huge clothing store and a restaurant. The storefront looked quite antiquate, painted in dark colours with golden accents, and featuring several signs written in elegant calligraphy. Behind the glass, he could see neatly arranged rows of products in display: books, herb pots, glass flasks, crystals... He had to admit he had no idea what half of that stuff even was, much less what it was for. Meanwhile, and in complete contrast to his grumpy, crossed-arms posture, Mokuba had a huge grin on his face. “Look, nii-sama! It’s so cool! Let’s go in!”

Kaiba rolled his eyes, his tone of voice perfectly showcasing his disinterest. “Sure, whatever. If it’ll make you happy.” Secretly, though, he was enjoying seeing his little brother so excited. Few things could make him smile, but a happy Mokuba was one of them. He refrained himself from doing just that when the black-haired boy suddenly gave him a quick hug and exclaimed “Thanks, nii-sama!”, before running inside.

A doorbell rang as he entered, and he was momentarily stunned by the strong aroma of frankincense and some kind of herbs he couldn’t recognize; it was way too intense at first, but a minute later it became tolerable, and admittedly kind of pleasant. The interior of the shop was dimly lit, the only light sources being a bunch of candles and oil lamps scattered all around: on the shelves, on the walls, even hanging from the ceiling. Kaiba couldn’t help noticing the serious fire hazard they represented. He made a mental note of the quickest path to the exit. Just in case.

His eyes flickered from shelf to shelf, trying to recognize any of the countless articles on display. Approaching a line of little glass bottles full of colourful substances (the sign above read “Potion Ingredients”), he looked at some of the labels: dried mandrake, crushed willow, onyx powder, _dragon’s blood?_ He glowered at the flask filled with deep red liquid before moving on. Another shelf featured a considerable number of trinkets of all shapes and sizes. Some were golden, some silver, some adorned with shiny stones and strange symbols. A lot of them looked Egyptian, at least based on his limited knowledge on the subject: there were beetles and winged figures and those weird eyes and keys he didn’t know the names of. Near the shelves, in one of the corners of the room, there was a small table supporting a strange apparatus made of metal and glass – if he’d had to guess, he’d have said it was probably meant for potion brewing, since it looked somewhat like distillery equipment.

He noted that there were plants everywhere: not only various different types of ivy, clinging to the walls and dangling from the ceiling, but also lots of vases and herb pots, each one labelled accordingly. Some were recognizable and seemed harmless enough, but he narrowed his eyes suspiciously at a few weird-looking flowers. The sweet smell in the air was apparently partly due to this abundance of flora, he realized.

There was a lot more to look at – the shop was incredibly cluttered – but he decided to ignore the rest of it for the time being, so he could walk over to the counter with Mokuba. Someone was standing behind it – were they the so-called “witch”? At first glance, he thought it was a woman; but as he got a better look, he realized the witch was actually male. Kaiba couldn’t really be blamed for the initial misunderstanding, though: the man behind the counter had an elegance to his posture and gestures that Kaiba wasn’t used to seeing in people other than women. Plus, both his clothing and accessories were what one might consider feminine: he wore a black crop-top, the cleavage cut in the form of a pentagram, and used a considerable amount of jewellery. Not to mention his freakishly long eyelashes, that batted as the man looked up at them and smiled. 

“Welcome to my shop,” he said. His voice was deep and had a certain musicality to it. “How may I help you?”

Mokuba smiled back and replied. “Hello! My name is Mokuba and this is my brother Seto. A friend of mine told me about this place, so I decided to come check it out for myself.” He paused for a moment before adding: “You’re the witch, right?”

The man nodded. “Indeed I am. My name is Atem. Nice to meet both of you, Mokuba and Seto.” He gave a friendly look in the latter’s direction, who obstinately refused to break his frown, settling for a curt nod.  

Atem’s attention was promptly driven back to Mokuba. “Nice to meet you too! See, I’ve been reading a lot about witchcraft and magic, so it’s really cool to talk to an actual witch.” Both him and Atem gracefully ignored Kaiba’s scoff. “But there’s so much stuff here I’ve never even heard of. Could you please explain what these are?”

“Of course.” Kaiba zoned out as Mokuba and Atem started talking about all the different trinkets and the such – it was all nonsense to him. He took the opportunity to look around the shop some more, examining books, potions, and artefacts he hadn’t noticed before. All that junk brought a half-smile to his face. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe in magic: of course he did. He knew fully well that some things just couldn’t be explained through rational, logical means: fairies, vampires, werewolves, wizards, they all walked around without really caring to hide their true identities. Magic was a well-known, accepted part of the world; few were the people that stubbornly tried to ignore it – and Seto might be a skeptic, but he wasn’t stupid. He knew better than to deny something that was right in front of his eyes.

So, his skepticism toward this shop and this “witch” didn’t stem from a complete lack of belief in the magical arts. Rather, it was due to the fact that, while _actual_ magical entities were relatively rare, their impersonators abounded. Especially when it came to witches – there really was no way one could pretend to be a werewolf, for example, but it was very easy to whip up some colourful concoctions and call them potions. He’d lost count to the people who had tried to sell him useless trinkets and brews, preaching their supposed miraculous properties to anyone who would listen. Funnily enough, their make-shift stalls never stayed in the same place for long. A good way to avoid dissatisfied customers coming back for refunds. He had crossed paths with quite a few magical entities before, but he’d never seen a true witch. As such, it was no wonder that Kaiba was generally very cynical toward witches and their likes; having no reason to believe the legitimacy of this one in particular, he simply didn’t. 

His brother, on the other hand, had been quick to fall under the witch’s spell – pun intended. He stared wide-eyed at the products in display, asking Atem questions about every one of them. The man didn’t seem too bothered; if anything, he looked genuinely pleased by Mokuba’s enthusiasm. A smile always on his face, he patiently explained the nature and purpose of whatever the teenager was asking about at the moment.

“What about this one?”, Mokuba asked, pointing at a flask filled with a turquoise liquid.

“That one is actually very interesting. Wash your hair with it and it will spend the next few days shifting through all the colours of the rainbow.” He chuckled, and added: “I must say, it is quite unsettling to see. The man I got the recipe from used it, and I honestly couldn’t stop staring at his hair for the whole conversation. I didn’t even understand half of what he was saying… though that was in part due to the fact that he had a rather funny way of speaking.”

Kaiba’s half-smile turned into a smirk. Hair dye? Yes, very impressive indeed. Just the kind of cheap parlour tricks he’d expect from a so-called “witch”. Meanwhile, his little brother had already moved on, his attention now focused on a sign hanging on the wall. It was covered in strange glyphs, with a brief description alongside each one. Atem answered the question before it had even been asked. 

“That is a sigil chart. Lists some of the most common and their respective meanings. Courtesy of a dear friend of mine.”

As Mokuba nodded and promptly kept blabbering on about this and that, Kaiba decided to seize the chance to take a closer look at the witch, noticing some aspects of his appearance for the first time: his hair, for example, which was an unruly mess of red-tipped black with golden bangs. He was amused by that; the man was apparently _really_ fond of hair dye. The witch’s front bangs framed his handsome face, his features enhanced by a slight amount of make-up. Slight if you didn’t count the eyes, that is, heavily lined in black ink that brought out the crimson of his irises. _Crimson?_ Kaiba assumed they were just coloured contacts, and didn’t give it any further thought.  He glanced over Atem’s jewellery next, admiring the contrast between the golden accessories and his tanned skin.

All in all, he had to admit the witch was… pleasant to look at.

Noticing his stare, said witch shot him a curious look, and Kaiba quickly shifted his eyes somewhere else, mentally scolding himself for being so obvious about his analysis. Atem’s gaze lingered on him for another moment, but he eventually went back to answering Mokuba’s endless questions. Kaiba paced around for a bit, trying to think about something other than the irritatingly handsome witch. Did he really have to be so damn good-looking? Not that that would change Kaiba’s opinion on his legitimacy, but-

“Nii-sama, are you listening? Hellooo?”

Kaiba was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts by his brother’s voice, who was now beckoning him to his side. The blue-eyed man rolled his eyes, but walked over to the counter anyway.

“What is it, Mokuba?”

“Atem was just showing me these awesome crystals and stones, and I thought you might want to see them.” He pointed to an assortment of shiny gems scattered on the counter, and grabbed one of them, holding it up for Kaiba to see. “Look, this one’s blue. It’s your favourite colour, right? What does this one do, Atem?”

“That’s a turquoise gem,” he answered, his voice still bereft of any exasperation or even boredom (Kaiba had to hand it to the witch: he was unbelievably patient). “It is a healing stone, for both the body and soul. Ever since the times of Ancient Egypt, it’s been used to calm the mind and bring serenity and peace to its users. Not as powerful as a potion, for example, but unlike them, its effect doesn’t wear out. A very useful stone for those who suffer from too much stress.”

Kaiba scoffed at that – _audibly –_ and the witch’s patience apparently ran out. He shot the disdainful man a glare that would have made anyone else take a step back and mumble an apology, but that did almost the exact opposite to Kaiba. He found himself staring wordlessly into the witch’s crimson eyes (which, now that he saw them up close, were very clearly _not_ coloured contacts), admiring the silent challenge evident in his expression: in the way his eyes narrowed, in the tight curve of his lips, in his incredibly confident attitude.

It wasn’t intimidating.

It was very, _very_ attractive.

Kaiba stared silently for a few more moments, before hastily looking away. What the hell was he thinking? Some random guy looks at him and he’s suddenly blushing like a schoolgirl (as a figure of speech, of course. He silently prayed he wasn’t _actually_ blushing; if Mokuba saw something like that, he’d never hear the end of it.)?

It hadn’t even been something of an alluring look, for fuck’s sake. It had been a glare. A very _aggressive_ glare. But in a way, that was exactly why it had shocked him so much. Used as he was to being obeyed without hesitation, to have everyone around him try their best to stay in his good graces (except for Mokuba, of course), it was a breath of fresh air to have someone stand up to him like that: with that fierce confidence that matched his own…

 _Damn it, what’s wrong with me?_  

It took him a moment to realize Mokuba was talking to him again.

“Nii-sama, I know you’re not the biggest fan of witchcraft, but there’s no need to be rude to Atem.” His tone was clearly disapproving. He turned back to the witch. “I’m sorry, that’s just the way he acts all the time.”

Atem slowly nodded, his eyes still on Kaiba. “Ah, don’t worry. I’ve met more than my fair share of skeptics.” His lips suddenly curved into a smirk. “They all abandon their disbelief sooner or later.”

Kaiba was still shaken, but he instantly recognized the challenge implicit in his words. No way he’d let it pass. When he answered, his disinterested mask was firmly back in place. “We’ll see about that. It’ll take more than smoke and mirrors to persuade me.”

Strangely, the witch didn’t seem taken aback by his reply. On the contrary, his smirk only widened, as if he was satisfied by Kaiba accepting his challenge.

They both turned back to Mokuba as he spoke again. “Well, in that case, we’ll just _show_ you this is real.” Holding up the blue gem he’d asked about earlier, he said: “I’ll take this one, and those two books you showed me.” He gave Kaiba a wink as he added “Oh, and could you please put the stone in a separate bag? It’s for a gift.”

Kaiba opened his mouth to protest, but before he could, Atem – who seemed thoroughly amused by the whole situation – replied: “Of course. I hope the person who it’s meant for will like it.”

Great. So they were teaming up against him. Two against one was hardly ever fair, but Kaiba figured it was even worse considering one of his “adversaries” was his little brother and the other was this strange and infuriatingly attractive man who could somehow leave him, _Seto Kaiba,_ at a loss for words.

 _Hmpf. If he thinks it’s going to be that easy, he’s in for a disappointment._ Kaiba had no doubt this “witch” was nothing more than a fraud, and he would prove it. It had become a matter of pride.  

Meanwhile, Mokuba had finished paying for his purchases. “Thank you for your help, Atem! _We’_ ll be back soon.” He glanced over at his brother as he markedly stressed the _we._  

Kaiba rolled his eyes (probably for the third or fourth time since they’d entered the shop) and huffed: “Fine. I’ll come with you just so you can watch as I prove Atem is _not_ a real witch, because his stupid rock is not going to work.” He told himself that was the only reason he wholeheartedly agreed with the idea of coming back to the shop. It had _nothing_ to do with the damned shopkeeper and his strangely hypnotizing red eyes. Nor with the (uncalled for) satisfaction he secretly felt as Atem smiled and answered, “I’ll be looking forward to your next visit.”

The two brothers made their way out of the shop, Mokuba clutching the shopping bags with a happy look on his face. He gave the smaller one to Kaiba. “Here, nii-sama. Atem said this helps relieve stress; you could really use something like that. Besides, you want proof it doesn’t work, right? What better way than to see for yourself?”

Kaiba allowed himself a smile, proud of his little brother’s cleverness. He knew just what to say so Kaiba would have no choice but to accept. “Sure. I’ll show you this is all just a waste of time and money.” He accepted the bag and reached into it, taking out the gemstone so he could examine it. It didn’t look magical at all, but it was admittedly very pretty. At least it would make for good decoration – its blue hue would actually fit right into his office’s colour scheme.

As they walked away from the little shop, Mokuba lightly bumped into him to get his attention, and asked “So? What did you think of the shop? And Atem?”

“Mokuba, you know fully well what I’m going to answer. It’s all a bunch of nonsense. As for that “witch”…” He managed to keep the disdain in his tone, but as he tried to come up with something to say about Atem, he couldn’t think of anything but his voice, the way his hair framed his face, the unusual yet mesmerising colour of his dark-lined eyes – those eyes brimming with confidence and the secret of a challenge-

_Stop it. What the hell is wrong with you?_

“…Yeah? What about him, nii-sama?”

“What?” Kaiba blinked in confusion before realizing Mokuba was still waiting for an answer. He kept on his mask of indifference as he replied: “He’s just like any other wannabe we’ve seen. Nothing special about him.”

“That’s not true, nii-sama! You’ll see!”

“Hmpf. Keep dreaming.”             

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading! look forward to more chapters in the (near?) future. just gotta figure out a storyline first...
> 
> (did you notice the obligatory ygotas reference? ;D)
> 
> suggestions are always welcome, and feedback is very appreciated~


	2. Correlation, Not Causation

“Atem, you _glared_ at a costumer?”

“Well, yes. He was being very disdainful and rude.”

“I get that, but he was a _customer!_ In your shop!”

“Actually, his brother was the one interested in buying something, not him. Besides, even if he _was_ going to make a purchase, that wouldn’t mean I’d just give up my pride. My values are worth more than a few hundred yen.”

Yugi sighed. He knew it was useless to argue with the man sitting in front of him.

“You know, I _would_ go downstairs and get Grandpa to help me knock some sense into you, but he’d probably just find it funny and end up taking your side.”

Atem smiled, victorious. “Very wise of you.”

The other groaned, but it wasn’t very convincing; it quickly turned into laughter as he admitted his defeat. “Fine, fine. I know you wouldn’t do anything else a situation like that. But come on, you haven’t told me his reaction yet!”

To his surprise, this brought a pensive look to the witch’s face. “Actually, that was something I found very strange. I was fully expecting him to retaliate. He strikes me as the kind of person who is unable to let any insult slide, as small as it may be.”

Yugi leaned toward the other, his interest now hooked. “But… he didn’t?”

“No. He just sort of… stared back at me. I couldn’t quite read his expression, but it was very different from the one he’d been wearing before. If I had to guess, I’d say he was surprised. I wonder why?”

“Because shopkeepers don’t usually glare at their costumers, Atem!”, said Yugi with a laugh. “But yeah, it’s weird that he didn’t respond, especially if he really is that kind of person.”

“Indeed.” Atem paused for a moment, and added: “It was very interesting. I would like to get to know him better. Fortunately, they did say they’d be back.”

Yugi frowned. “Really? Now you’re the one acting out of character. Usually, if someone’s rude to you, you just ignore them. What’s so different about this Seto guy?”

“I’m not sure. It’s strange. From the moment he entered the shop, everything about him seemed to indicate he was just another arrogant skeptic – you know I’ve dealt with more than enough of those. But, when I looked at him, I… I don’t know. I felt like maybe there’s something else there.” A smile spread over his face. “Also, it is worth noting that he had very beautiful eyes. Cold blue – somewhat like his demeanour, funnily enough.”

Yugi rolled his own, violet eyes. “Atem, for god’s sake, please don’t tell me you got a crush on some guys whose only interactions with you so far were scoffs and glares.”

The witch blinked, and Yugi groaned as his smile turned somewhat shameful. “ _Atem_.”

“I _never_ said that, Yugi! I don’t even know him; as you pointed out, we haven’t even talked yet. But yes, I do hope we will. Still, I will _not_ forget his impoliteness, or forgive it until he apologizes.” The pensive look was back on his face. “Though, if my impression is correct, he is not the type to give away apologies.”

“You seem to have gathered a whole lot of information about him from that one meeting”, Yugi said, raising an eyebrow. “I know you’re good at reading people, but still!”

The witch nodded. “I think that might be partly due to the fact that, for some reason, he seemed a bit familiar to me. Both brothers, actually. Maybe I’d seen them before? I’m not really sure.”

“Wait.” Yugi looked as if an idea had just struck him. “They seemed familiar? And you said their names were Mokuba and Seto? And…” His eyes widened comically. “Atem!”

“Hm? What is it?”

“Did they tell you their surname?!”

Atem thought about it for a moment. “…No, I don’t think they did. Why?”

“From your description… It _has_ to be.” Yugi hastily got up and walked over to his desk, grabbing his phone and tapping at the screen as Atem watched him with a puzzled look on his face.

“Yugi, just what are you-“

“Here.” The phone was suddenly held up in front of Atem’s face, a photo of two people on the screen. The witch instantly recognized them.

“Ah, those are the brothers! How did you get a picture of them?”

“Man, you really are clueless. Your visitors were no less than the _Kaiba_ brothers!”, Yugi exclaimed, almost exasperated.

“Kaiba… Ah!” Atem finally understood. “As in, the leaders of Kaiba Corp, I assume? So that’s why they seemed familiar.”

“Well, yeah, they should be more than familiar! They’re always all over the news!”  He sighed. “I can’t _believe_ you had the CEO of the world’s biggest gaming company in your shop and you didn’t even notice. You _glared_ at him, in fact!”

“Yugi, as much as I love games, you know I don’t really keep up with the “scene”. And I don’t watch much TV, either.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. But now I can understand his attitude, he’s famous for being cold and arrogant. And it’s not an unfair reputation – I’ve actually seen him in person at a few tournaments, and he _really_ is like that.”

“I see. But, as I’ve said, I feel like there’s more to him than that.”

“God, Atem. The man is known for being _ruthless.”_ Yugi raised an eyebrow. “Actually, now that I think about it… what you told me is even more surprising. You left _Seto Kaiba_ at a loss for words! I’m impressed.”

The witch shrugged. “I don’t really care who he is. Though that does help explain why he was so surprised; he must be used to being obeyed without question. That’s one mystery solved, at least. The rest, I will address when I see him again. I’m looking forward to seeing his brother, too. He’s a very nice boy; his genuine enthusiasm about my craft is quite endearing. I think you’d like him.”

“You’ll tell me how it went after they go back to the shop, right? Now you got me curious.”

“I will”, Atem assured him. “It should be interesting, in fact. The little one, Mokuba, bought a gem for Seto – a turquoise stone. He’s convinced it won’t do anything; said he’d come back with proof that I’m a fraud.” He chuckled. “As if. He’ll be the one swallowing his own words.”

Yugi studied Atem’s expression. His friend looked determined, set on his objective of proving his merit to Seto. “Wow, you seem _really_ serious about this.”

Atem nodded. Yes, I suppose I am. Though it’s always fun to see the look on a skeptic’s face when they are left with no choice but to accept the truth, I suspect this one will be even better. I feel like it’s become somewhat of a challenge, actually – a game.”

“Well, if it is, then I certainly want to see how it plays out.” Yugi smirked. “You versus Seto Kaiba, the gaming industry genius. Should be fun.”

“Ah, but it will be no match”, Atem replied with a smug grin. “I will win, because I _am_ the one who’s right.”

 

* * *

 

 “ _Of course_ I’ll win. I’m right. He’s not.”

“Nii-sama…” Mokuba sighed. “Why should it be about winning or losing? There are literally no stakes! It’s ok to admit he’s for real. I mean, what’s the big deal? You _know_ witches do exist, even if they’re rare.”

“See, Mokuba, that’s where you’re wrong.” Kaiba crossed his arms in front of his chest. “You may not have noticed, but he _challenged_ me. And I don’t back down from a challenge.”

His little brother raised an eyebrow, seemingly confused. “Uh, he did? But you didn’t even talk to each other.”

“It wasn’t spoken. But it was there. I’m sure of it.” The CEO scowled. Thinking of the witch made his blood boil. _Out of anger. Nothing else._ “Who does he think he is? I’m going to put that little impostor on his place. I’ll win this game, just like I win at everything else.”

Mokuba didn’t bother arguing any further. When his brother set his mind to something, he did _not_ give up until he’d accomplished whatever he wanted to do.

“Alright… it’s not like I can change your mind.” He got up and walked over to the door. “Just, don’t get too worked up over it, ok? You already have more than enough to worry about.”

Kaiba nodded as his brother shut the door behind him, and he was left alone in his office, from where he managed his company. The room was spacious, filled with light that came through the huge windows behind his desk. The furniture was elegant and modern-looking, all glass and polished steel; the ceiling, floor, and walls were painted in sober, cold shades of blue. Everything about the office was stylish and aesthetically pleasant, so much that it seemed too orderly, impersonal, without the slightest hint of cosiness or comfort. It was intentional, of course; the room wasn’t meant to be a homey place. On the contrary, it was supposed to exude a serious atmosphere that would keep him focused on his work, and immediately have the same effect on anyone who came in through the door. That was just the way it was, and Kaiba was more than used to it – he appreciated it, in fact.  

But, for some reason, that day in particular something felt… out of place. Wrong, somehow. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but he didn’t feel like he usually did when he was working at his office. It was as if a weight has been lifted off him; he almost felt _relaxed._ He furrowed his brow. Kaiba never allowed himself to feel at ease in his office; it was his workplace, where he couldn’t afford to make any mistakes.

And yet, he didn’t feel that usual tension that always kept him on his toes – or rather, while it still _was_ there, it was barely noticeable.  

Even worse, now that he thought about it, he realized that this strange feeling had been there for at least several days. Just a little over a week before, he’d been so stressed due to a serious issue with one of KaibaCorp’s products that he’d lashed out at anyone who was unfortunate enough to pass by his office – including Mokuba. And then, just four or five days later, he’d managed to solve the problem by approaching it with a calmer, more rational attitude.

The first part was easy to explain: his job’s constant pressure has probably been getting to him. It was a very likely possibility – Kaiba might be a brilliant, young CEO heading one of the biggest companies in the gaming and tech market (not that he was boasting, of course, those were just facts), but he was still human. The lack of sleep and excessive working hours did take their toll on him.

But then, why had it changed all of a sudden? His routine had been the same as always.

_In between those two events, did anything unusual occur? Friday was normal. Saturday, I only left the office to go with Mokuba-_

Kaiba’s eyes suddenly widened and flew to the blue stone he’d been using as a paperweight for a week or so, as he remembered the witch’s words: _“It is a healing stone, for both the body and soul. Ever since the times of Ancient Egypt, it’s been used to calm the mind and bring serenity and peace to its users.”_

He scowled at the stone. Like his shift in mood had anything to do with that piece of rock sitting on his table. He was abashed he’d even _thought_ of that – it just wasn’t logical. There had to be a better explanation. He racked his brains, trying to find it, but to no avail. He shot another glare at the stone, and decided to put it to the test; he grabbed it and walked out the door.

Fifteen minutes later, he was back in his office. He’d taken the elevator down to the R&D labs, and stashed the stone in some random drawer in some random room.

Kaiba sat back down in his Italian leather chair, and rested his elbows on the desk. He didn’t feel any different, with or without the stone.

_Heh. Guess that proves it, then._

In all honesty, he couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. He’d hoped this “game” would at least be interesting, but it had ended far too quickly. _Well, too bad. At least I’ll get Mokuba to realize the truth._ Now that that was settled, he could get back to work without having anything else on his mind – he still didn’t know the cause of his strange mood shift, but he could figure that out later.

Kaiba switched the computer monitor back on and immersed himself in his work, his thoughts filled with stock prices and market trends and completely free of silly things like blue gemstones or annoying red-eyed witches.

 

* * *

 

“Nii-sama, this is the third coffee you’ve had today. Go to sleep.”

Kaiba looked up from his (actually fourth) cup of coffee and at the black-haired boy standing in front of his desk, arms crossed and an irritated expression on his face.

It was late; the only light coming in through the windows was the artificial glow of public illumination and publicity signs. No doubt past closing hours – so what was Mokuba still doing at KaibaCorp?

“Mokuba, you should be at home. You have school tomorrow.”

His little brother rolled his eyes, clearly exasperated.

“No, I don’t. Tomorrow – today, I guess – is Sunday.” He shifted his weight from one leg to the other, uncrossing his arms; his tone now somewhat pleading. “Come on, nii-sama. I know you’re tired. Let’s go home.”

Kaiba sighed, pressing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. He could feel the all-too-familiar warning signs of a bad headache; he knew it’d inevitably get him cranky, and he didn’t want to accidentally snap at Mokuba.

“I can’t leave yet. I still have work to do. Go on ahead and I’ll be home as soon as I finish this.”

“Yeah, I bet you will. Knowing you, that means you’ll get home as soon as a week from now.” He leaned in closer to his older brother, studying his posture and expression. “You’ve got a headache, don’t you? I mean, it’s only natural, since you haven’t slept in what? Two days?”

“Three,” Kaiba mumbled. “And I haven’t even got anything useful done. I can’t focus.” He frowned in frustration, talking more to himself than to Mokuba. “Why? The first few days of the week were unusually productive. I was trying to maximise that productiveness; that’s why I haven’t been sleeping. I couldn’t waste any time.”

Unsurprisingly, that made his brother look unhappy. “You’re not a machine, nii-sama. What matters isn’t your _effectiveness._ It’s your well-being.” He tried yet again. “Please. You need to rest! Everything will still be here when you get back.”

Clutching his (now cold) cup of coffee, Kaiba pondered his options for a moment. It _was_ true that the lack of sleep was probably affecting his work, but he felt so restless and agitated he doubted he could sleep even if he tried.

Eventually, though, he gave in. He wasn’t doing anything productive anyway, and it felt wrong to see Mokuba so worried about him. “Fine. Let’s go.”

His brother’s face immediately lighted up, and Kaiba let him take his hand and guide him out of the office.

As the elevator arrived at the ground floor, Kaiba suddenly remembered the stone he’d left in the basement labs two or three days earlier.

“Mokuba, wait a second. I need to go get something.” He wasn’t sure why he was even bothering with that piece of junk.

The boy raised a suspicious eyebrow, causing his brother to swiftly reply: “I’m not trying to go back up. I’ll be back in a minute.” Mokuba didn’t look fully convinced, but he nodded, and the CEO pushed the button for the lower floors.

The R&D section was very dark, every light apart from the emergency signs’ soft glow switched off, but Kaiba easily made his way to the room where he’d left the gem.

Half-blindly, he reached into the drawer. As soon as his fingers brushed the stone, he felt a curious tranquillity wash over him. He sighed in relief, feeling some tension seep away-

_Wait, what?_

Shocked, Kaiba almost dropped the stone. The lack of sleep really was getting to him, if he was imagining stuff like this. He shook his head, pocketing the small blue object, and went to reunite with Mokuba in the grandiose company hall.

The brothers were driven home – Kaiba didn’t even try to convince Mokuba he was awake enough to drive himself. Mostly because he _wasn’t._ Since he’d retrieved the gemstone – no, scratch that, that was just illogical. Since they’d left KaibaCorp, he’d been feeling much calmer than he had at any point in the previous few days, and he finally realized how much his body needed to rest.

So much so that, as soon as he got to his room, he didn’t have the energy to do anything but fall face-first on the bed, still fully dressed, and a minute later he was fast asleep.

 

* * *

 

_The child struggled to keep his eyes open, drowsy and weak and exhausted; fighting the urge to give up, because he knew what would happen if he did. The whip was always ready to go down again, always ready to add more angry red marks to the countless others engraved on his back._

_Both his body and mind had reached their limits already – sheer force of will was what kept him going. But that wouldn’t suffice. Not for long._

_Sure enough, he soon felt his hand relax involuntarily, the pen he’d been holding slipping away from his grasp, and he instinctively flinched as he heard the horribly familiar sound of the whip whistling through the air, brandished by the man he hated more than anything in the world._

 

* * *

Kaiba jerked awake, his mouth agape in a soundless scream, his breathing ragged and his heart running wild. Disoriented at first, it took him a few seconds to properly process the situation.

_Another one? This is getting ridiculous._

The nightmares had always been there, of course, but their frequency was irregular. Sometimes, he’d get them two or three times a week, at best. Sometimes, they wouldn’t leave him alone for a single night, for weeks on end. This was one of those times.

In fact, that was part of the reason why he’d been avoiding getting any sleep. His nightmares affected him more than he was willing to admit; more than going without any rest for two or three days straight.

Strangely, though, he seemed to be recovering faster than usual: he could already feel his heartbeat and breathing going back to normal. The uncomfortable after-impression of panic that invariably followed one of his nightmares hadn’t disappeared – it probably wouldn’t so soon – but it was bearable. Both physically and mentally, he was as well as he could be in such a situation.

The only thing that felt amiss was a numb pain near his hip, as if a bruise had formed there. Kaiba carefully touched the sore spot, and was surprised when he felt a small lump in his pocket, right over the supposed contusion.

It was, he remembered, the turquoise stone he’d brought back from KaibaCorp. He held it out in front of him, trying to rationalize the apparent connection between the supposedly magical object and the unnervingly unusual week he’d had.

Yes, the witch had said something about the stone having “healing properties”. Yes, he’d experienced something similar to this whenever he was near the gem.

_However, correlation does not imply causation._

One single case wasn’t enough to accurately determine the actual effectiveness of the stone - or the rest of the witch’s wares, for that matter.

Still, it _was_ enough to stir some doubt inside his stubbornly skeptical mind – perhaps he’d been wrong to dismiss the witch right away. The game wasn’t over just yet, it seemed.

_Alright, you’ve managed to grab my attention. Now let’s see if you can hold it._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and that's chapter 2! a bit longer than the first, and probably a bit boring too... but worry not, i've managed to figure out a storyline (and an unecessarily, overly ambitious and complicated one, at that) and things will really start to get moving soon. 
> 
> a bit of angst there, too, because why not? expect some more in the future, haha. 
> 
> oh, by the way: i've decided to try updating this fic on a fixed schedule, with two weeks between updates. i don't know if i'll be able to keep up with it (school exists...), but i will do my best! 
> 
> thank you for reading! feedback?~


	3. Potion Making

 

The doorbell chimed as someone entered the witch’s shop.

“Welcome, how may I-“ Lifting his head from the displays he’d been organising, Atem smiled as he recognized the customer. “Ah, Mokuba! Good to see you again.” His eyes fell on the tall man behind the dark-haired boy, and his smile widened. “Good to see you too, Seto.”

The smile wasn’t returned. “My surname is _Kaiba_. Use it.”

Atem noted, amused, that the man’s rude reply earned him a hard look from his little brother. He’d predicted that the response to hearing him use his first name would not be positive, though, so he wasn’t too bothered. 

“That’s fine.” The witch walked over to Mokuba. “Did you find the books useful?”

Disapproval at his brother now forgotten, the boy grinned at the tan-skinned man. “Yeah! They were just what I’d been looking for! I think I’m ready to try one myself.”

“If you studied the books carefully, then I don’t see why not.”

He was about to make a suggestion to Mokuba, but his attention was drawn away by Kaiba’s question – though he said it in a tone so flat it sounded more like a statement. “What are you talking about.”

“Potions!” The quick answer came from his little brother.

Kaiba raised an eyebrow and snorted, sarcastically remarking: “Oh, really? So us ordinary people can make potions now? Seems like a good way for a witch to go out of business.”

“Contrary to popular belief, anyone can brew potions, given that they have an adequate recipe, ingredients, and equipment”, Atem patiently explained. “It won’t, however, have any effect unless it is enchanted by a witch. Taking all this into account” – he stared intently at Kaiba – “you are just in the right place for potion-brewing, and my services are indeed needed.”

He got the exact kind of reaction he was expecting: a rude snicker. In retaliation, he stared Kaiba down defiantly. It didn’t seem to be very effective.

Atem turned back to Mokuba. “As I was about to say, I would suggest starting with a simple recipe. Perhaps one of the simplest healing potions. Draught of Soothing is a good one for beginners.”

“Oh, I read that one! Seemed easy enough.”

“Well, it is indeed quite simple. You should be able to do it without much trouble.” The witch pointed to the brewing stand on the corner of the shop. “The smaller cauldron should be more than enough. I trust you can find all the ingredients by yourself – the shelves are labelled quite clearly. When you are ready to start, call me and I will go and help you.” Mokuba nodded and hurried off to gather the ingredients he needed.   

His attention now back on Kaiba – who, for a change of pace, looked incredibly standoffish – Atem asked: “So, was your turquoise stone of any use?” He was in stitches to know the answer – he was sure Kaiba would have felt the stone’s effect, so it was just a matter of him lying or being honest about it.

The blue-eyed man seemed to hesitate for a moment before curtly stating: “I did feel different from usual, this last week or so.” Noticing Atem’s grin, he swiftly added: “However, that doesn’t prove anything. As far as I’m concerned, it was merely a coincidence, since there is no proof that suggests otherwise.”

Satisfied with the answer, the witch crossed his arms, his grin now smug. “Ah, is that so? Seems like a poor excuse to me.”

“Hmpf. There are more explanations, none of which having anything to do with magic.”

Raising an eyebrow, Atem challenged: “Really? I’d like to hear them.”

“Placebo effect”, came the quick-fire response. The witch was more than ready for it, though.

“I thought the placebo effect only works for something you firmly believe in?”

 _Aha._ The way Kaiba looked mad at himself, as if he had blurted out a response without really thinking about it beforehand, was immensely satisfying. _Serves him right for his deplorable behaviour._

Before Kaiba managed to come up with an answer, Mokuba called from the other side of the shop.

“Atem, I think I got all the stuff I need!”

 _Great timing._ Mokuba had just inadvertently saved his brother from the situation, denying Atem the chance to keep provoking him. _Ah, well. I guess I’ll have to wait._

“I’ll be there in a moment, Mokuba.” Then, to Kaiba: “Looks like our conversation has been cut short. But we’ll keep talking later.” He smugly acknowledged the disgruntled look on the other’s face before walking over to the brewing stand.

“Alright, looks like you got everything we need. Let’s start, then.”

After a few minutes of relative silence, Mokuba quickly looked at his brother before whispering: “I heard you guys talk about the stone. I’m actually surprised he admitted it worked.” He frowned, and corrected himself. “Well, not really, but you know. At least he did tell you _something._ I didn’t think he would, to be honest.”

That sparked Atem’s interest. “Oh? Why is that?”

“He’s a _really_ sore loser.” The boy snickered, and the witch couldn’t help a little chuckle too. “And very stubborn, too! He never listens to what people tell him. I’m always saying he needs to work less, but he doesn’t care. Like, he has the _worst_ schedule. He works late into the night and then he can’t even sleep, so he’s always tired and cranky.” His tone had been playful, but now it was sad.

“Your brother has trouble sleeping?” That explained the very visible bags under Kaiba’s eyes and _maybe_ some of his general aggressiveness. Atem was worried as well as curious. What could possibly cause the man to be unable to rest? He now knew Kaiba led a huge, multinational company, so that had to be a great source of stress. Perhaps he should ask about it later.

“Yeah… He tries to hide it, but I know he’s always pulling all-nighters. And I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have any health problems like insomnia or something, so I…” Suddenly he stopped himself, looking strangely regretful. “You know, I shouldn’t be talking about this. My brother really doesn’t like people knowing too much about him.”

Though the witch felt a bit disappointed – he didn’t want to lose the chance to know a bit more about Kaiba, and wished to figure out whether he could help him with it – he knew best than to press any further. “I understand. I can tell you’re a really good brother, Mokuba.”

The boy’s face lit up with joy. “You think so? I try. Nii-sama does so much for me, I… I just try to do the same, as best as I can.”

Atem smiled. He still didn’t know these brothers well, but they seemed to have a very strong relationship. “I’m sure you do.”

A comfortable silence fell between them afterwards, as they worked on the potion. Atem inspected it and nodded in approval. “It’s going quite well. You’re doing a great job, Mokuba.”

The boy grinned at him. “Thanks!”

“Seems like you’re a natural. You know, this one in particular may be very simple, but I believe that one day you’ll be able to make the most difficult and powerful healing potions.” Atem laughed at Mokuba’s clear enthusiasm. “And who knows? One day, one of your brews may just save a life.”

 

* * *

      

Left alone in front of the shop counter, Kaiba fumed quietly. How could he have let the witch gain an advantage that easily? Not that he regretted not lying – he was a fair player, after all. Most of the time. When he felt like it.   

But to have been unable to provide a plausible explanation? It had been simply _embarrassing._

He paced around for a bit, keeping himself busy by reading and answering emails on his phone, and furtively glancing at his brother every so often. With a look of pure concentration on his face, he threw powders and leaves and weirdly-coloured liquids into a small cauldron, vigorously stirring its contents. It looked absolutely ridiculous – even more so considering he expected this mixture of random ingredients to turn into an actual _potion._ It was comparable to a child playing with dirt and water and claiming to have made soup.

Still, at least Mokuba seemed like he was having fun. Beside him, the witch watched over his work, occasionally checking on the lit flame under the pot or preventing the wannabe potion brewer from making a mistake. They chatted as they worked, the conversation too fast-paced and quiet for Kaiba to be able to overhear it.

After a little while, the witch raised his voice enough for Kaiba to hear: “So, now you just let this simmer for fifteen minutes, and don’t forget to stir when it starts changing colour. Do you think you can handle it on your own?”

“Of course I can! You’ll see!”, Mokuba replied, grinning.

“I’ll leave you to it, then.” The witch made his way behind the shop counter, right across from where Kaiba was standing, and flashed him what could only be described as a charming smile. Though it took a considerable amount of sheer willpower, the taller man managed to keep on his poker face. “So, Kaiba. I was hoping we could continue our conversation?” Even as the blue-eyed man shot him a glare, he continued: “Not necessarily on the same topic, of course. It would probably only lead us to a dead end, seeing as you are so certain on your coincidence theory. And who knows, perhaps you are right.”

Kaiba suspiciously narrowed his eyes at the witch. He was _definitely_ going somewhere with this.

“Still, I think you would agree that you are at a bit of a disadvantage right now. I do think I should be given the right to ask something of you.”

_And here it comes._

“So how about you answer some questions about yourself?”

_That was unexpected._

“Why.”

“Well, because I would like to learn more about you. Is that so much to ask?” The witch seemed to notice the other man still looked suspicious. “Come on, Kaiba. No second intentions, I promise. I will even let you ask something in return, if you’d like.”

Kaiba snorted at that. “What makes you think I’d be interested?” Secretly, though, he was; intrigued both about the witch himself and his intentions, which were still unclear. _Never trust anyone until they’ve given you definite proof that you can._ Still, a few simple questions couldn’t hurt – especially if that meant he’d have an excuse to stare at the witch.

He rolled his eyes as he relented: “Fh. Fine.”

“Thank you.” Propping his elbows on the counter, the witch seemed to ponder his first question for a little while, before settling for: “Since your last visit, I found out you’re the CEO of KaibaCorp. Strange that the leader of a multinational company takes time off his work to visit witch shops, by the way.” He _winked_ at Kaiba, who promptly hid his fluster behind a dismissive huff. “That’s not the point, though. And do not think I’ll treat you any differently just because you are some well-known entrepreneur, but colour me curious.” Crimson eyes fixed on Kaiba’s, he asked: “What is it like?”

The question took Kaiba by surprise. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I must say it is strange that you’re the leader of a company as big as KaibaCorp when you look so young. You can’t be much older than me, in fact.”   

“I’m 22.”

Atem’s eyes widened in surprise. “Really? But that means we’re the same age. That’s very impressive.”

Though it wasn’t a topic he was willing to discuss – for obvious reasons – Kaiba couldn’t resist the opportunity to brag. “Actually, I took over KaibaCorp when I was 15.”

It was definitely worth it just to see the witch’s reaction to that. “ _Fifteen?_ How did that even happen?”

Trying to evade the question, Kaiba simply said: “It’s a long story.”

Unfortunately for him, he’d managed to hook Atem’s interest. “Please, do tell me about it.” A pensive look on his face, he added: “Actually, correct me if I’m mistaken, but didn’t KaibaCorp use to make weapons? I heard it only turned into a gaming company a few years ago. Did you have a hand on that?”

 _Damn it._ Kaiba should have predicted this would be the natural response to his statement, but he’d been so eager to boast that he hadn’t properly thought it through – a problem that seemed to be happening far too often for his liking, in fact. Anxious to steer the conversation away from that topic in particular, he replied curtly: “That’s hardly any of your business, _witch._ ” Just for added measure, he injected an extra dose of sarcasm into the last word.

Atem did _not_ like that. Eyes narrowing dangerously, his tone – though still polite – was markedly firm and stern. “I understand if you’re not willing to disclose too much information about yourself, but your aggressiveness is hardly necessary. Such a toxic attitude is likely to drive people away from you.” Kaiba gaped at the witch, but he wasn’t done. “Also, I have a name. It’s _Atem,_ just in case you’d forgotten. Do use it.”

Kaiba should have been irritated by the man’s audacity – did he treat every costumer with such brutal honesty? –  but he realized that he wasn’t. If anything, it was refreshing, exciting, to have the other defy him like that. It was _fun._

“Fine then, Atem.” Though his tone was still nothing short of rude, Atem looked pleased by his reply, his smile visibly genuine. “Since you’re so eager to know, I’ll tell you. When I took KaibaCorp away from my… _father,_ I did everything in my power to destroy the old company and everything it represented. I shut down every single weapons factory operating under KaibaCorp and launched it into the field of gaming and technology. That’s the whole story.”

Judging by the way he could see the questions multiplying in Atem’s eyes, the witch was fully aware that was _not_ the whole story. Yet, he didn’t ask anything else. “I see. That’s very admirable, Kaiba.”

“Whatever.” Despite all the praise, Kaiba did his best to look completely unaffected. It wasn’t easy, especially considering that he was trying to do so without looking away from the witch’s mesmerizing eyes.

_Actually, that reminds me._

“So is it my turn now, or what?”, he asked the witch, who, looking pleasantly surprised, replied: “Oh? You _do_ have questions for me, then?”

“Sure, why not.”

“Well,” said Atem with an encouraging gesture, “go ahead.”

“What’s up with your eyes, anyway?”

“My eyes?” The witch took a moment to understand what he had meant. “Ah, you mean why they are red?” At Kaiba’s confirmation, he explained: “As I’m sure you know, many – though not all – magical creatures and people have unusually coloured eyes. Red eyes are a common trait in witches.”

“Hm.”

“Yes, I know you’re still not convinced. You did ask me, though, and that’s my answer.”

So that was one mystery still left unsolved. Or rather, one mystery Kaiba refused to see solved this way. Electing not to give it any further thought, he moved on. “You don’t look Japanese at all, but you speak the language flawlessly.” It was more of an observation than a question.

“That would be because my family is from Egypt.” _Interesting._ That explained the darker skin tone and his markedly foreign facial features. “I was born there, but we moved to Japan when I was still a child. We had some distant relatives here. Funnily enough, they actually own a game shop.” Kaiba’s eyebrows raised in a silent question. “Kame Game Shop. It’s a small family business, so you’ve probably never heard of them.”

Actually, Kaiba had _very much_ heard of that game shop in particular. “The Mutous, then.”

“Oh, so you do know them?”

The blue-eyed man scoffed. “The owner is a legendary gamer and his grandson is fairly well known in the gaming circuit. It’s only logical that I know them.”

“Now that I think about it, Yugi did say he’d seen you at some tournaments.” All of a sudden, he looked as if an idea had just struck him. “Speaking of which, I had another question. You like games, don’t you?”

 _Do I like games? More than you could ever know._ “Of course I do. And, for your information, I excel at them.”

“Ah, really?” A smirk danced on the witch’s lips. “In that case, I would like to invite you for one.” 

That sparked Kaiba’s interest. Did Atem enjoy playing games, too? He wondered if the witch would be a skilled player. “What kind of game?”

“A tabletop RPG. Me and my friends are having a gaming afternoon next Sunday. You can bring Mokuba too, if he wants to come.”

 _Oh. Really._ And there he had been expecting something interesting. “Fh. As if I don’t have anything better to do with my time than to hang out with a bunch of nerds.”

“Tabletop RPG, huh?” Both men turned around at Mokuba, who’d walked up behind Kaiba and was wearing a huge smile on his face. “I love that kind of games! I’d be really happy to go and play with you and your friends, Atem.”

The little traitor. “Mokuba, that’s not-“

“Wonderful!”, the witch exclaimed. “I’m glad you want to join us.” Kaiba could have _sworn_ he saw Atem wink at his brother. _For fuck’s sake, not again._

The blue-eyed man let out an exasperated sigh. “I don’t have time to spend a whole afternoon socializing with some geeks, Mokuba.”

“Ah, don’t worry, Nii-sama. It’s not like you have to come along too. I mean, I’m seventeen, I can take care of myself.” Kaiba didn’t miss how he was struggling to hold back his laughter.

“Yes, and after all, some of my friends are excellent players. It is no shame to be unwilling to play against such strong opponents.”, Atem chimed in. Mokuba’s attempts to keep a straight face became substantially more evident.

 _Ok, that’s it._ Kaiba knew fully well he was just walking into an extremely obvious trap, but if he refused now he’d be backing down from the challenge, and he would not have that. Plus, the idea of seeing the witch play did hold some appeal.

“Ha! You wish. I’ll obliterate you and all of your friends.”   

Atem smiled radiantly, replying: “I’m glad you accept my invitation, Kaiba. I will let them know we’ll have some extra people next Sunday.” Then he suddenly turned his head to the side, furrowing his brow as if he’d felt something was wrong but could not figure out what. “Aren’t we forgetting something?”

“The potion!” Mokuba ran over to the brewing stand, looking more than a bit panicked. After putting out the flame, he lifted the cauldron lid and sighed in relief. “It’s all good. One more minute and it would have been ruined… “

The witch, who had walked over to the corner too, confirmed: “Indeed. Good thing you were so quick.” Chuckling at the boy’s relief, he said: “Well, you just managed to successfully brew your first potion! Congratulations.”

“Yeah! That’s so cool!” Mokuba threw a fist in the air in celebration.

The only one not interested in the least was, of course, Kaiba. He rolled his eyes at his little brother’s antics – even though it was nice to see him so cheerful and proud of himself. “I’ll congratulate you when I see that it _works._ ”

Atem smirked at him. “Don’t worry, Kaiba, you will.” Then, to Mokuba: “I’ll still have to enchant it so that it will be effective, and it still needs to rest for some time. It will probably only be ready in a couple of days; you can come by and get it then, if you want.”

“I will! Thanks, Atem.”

 _Oh, great. One more trip to the bogus witch shop._ Kaiba knew he’d be dragged along yet again, and that it’d be just as much of a hassle as the two previous visits.

Or, okay, sure. Maybe not a _hassle._ Maybe he was even looking forward to coming back. Just a little bit.

Not that he’d admit that to anyone, of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kaiba continues to be an asshole, because what else would he be?
> 
> soon we'll get to see the rest of the gang! yaay
> 
> thank you for reading! critique and suggestions are always welcome~
> 
> [EDIT: since the new chapter is a bit delayed, here's some compensation :) https://lucy-wf.tumblr.com/post/174306506792/for-the-people-following-cast-a-spell-on-my]


	4. Game Start!

Mokuba opened the door with such force it was a wonder its hinges managed to stay in place. Inside the shop, a customer jumped at the loud noise, startled. The witch standing beside him, however, didn’t even flinch – it was actually pretty impressive.

“Sorry!”, the boy exclaimed, apologetically. “I didn’t mean to do that!”

“It’s alright, Mokuba. I’ll be with you in a moment, please wait a little while.”

Nodding, Mokuba turned back to his brother, who’d followed him into the shop. Unable to contain his enthusiasm, he jumped in place, a huge grin on his face. Arms crossed, Seto shook his head disapprovingly at the boy’s antics.  

“Still haven’t figured out why you’re so excited.”

“Nii-sama!” Mokuba huffed at his brother in mock annoyance. “How could I _not_ be excited? I’m here to pick up my first ever potion, remember?”

“Pff. Sure. Just don’t be too disappointed when it turns out to be useless.”

Though he knew he was far too old to so something so childish, Mokuba stuck his tongue out at Seto anyway. Predictably, it didn’t get much of a reaction, aside from an amused snort.

The boy glanced in Atem’s direction, standing behind the shop counter and chatting with the customer. Despite not intending to listen in on their conversation, Mokuba still heard a few snippets of what they were saying – they weren’t too far away from him, small as the shop was. _Something about an artist?_ Whatever it was, it seemed like it had upset Atem. His brow furrowed and his arms crossed, he nodded gravely as the customer spoke.

A few minutes later, the doorbell chimed as the customer exited the shop. Noting that the witch still looked a bit distressed, Mokuba frowned, his enthusiasm momentarily subdued by his concern. “Atem? You okay?”

Atem started a little at the question, as if it had suddenly snapped him out of deep thought, but it wasn’t long before he regained his composure. “Yes, Mokuba, thank you for asking. I was thinking about what the lady that just left was telling me. Apparently, the wife of a very renowned artist and magician passed away recently. I did not know her very well, but I did meet her a few times, and she seemed like a good person.” His frown was even more pronounced as he added: “But her death, sad as it is, is not the only thing that’s bothering me. You see, her husband is so well-known because he combines his artistic and magical talent. He instils magic into his paintings, making them almost… _alive,_ in a way _._ ” He waved a hand dismissively at Mokuba’s amazed expression. “It’s just an illusion, of course, though a very credible one. But now, after his wife’s passing, there’s a rumour among the magic community that he’s trying to perfect his technique even more, so that he can… bring her back.”

“Necromancy?” The question had, surprisingly enough, come from Seto, who shrugged at the other two’s surprised expressions. “I’ve had a few run-ins with some madmen who thought they could raise the dead. It never ends well, of course.”  

“Indeed, necromancy is a dangerous endeavour. There’s a reason why it is banned. This doesn’t exactly seem like necromancy to me, but still…” There was a brief pause, and then Atem shook his head and smiled. “Ah, we needn’t worry about that right now. We’ve got more important matters to address.”

That was all it took for the boy’s face to light up again as he remembered the purpose of his visit to the witch’s shop. “Right! My potion!”

Reaching under the wooden shop counter, Atem retrieved a little glass flask filled with a clear, emerald green liquid, and handed it over to Mokuba, who hurriedly took it and proceeded to examine the potion with a look of satisfaction on his face.

“It turned out quite nicely, especially for your first time. I’m sure it’ll work just fine. Do remember, however, that this is a very simple potion. It will do well for small injuries like cuts and bruises, or even minor illnesses, like a cold, but that’s about it.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s okay, though! Just that is already awesome.” Shifting his eyes away from the bottle he was holding as if it were a treasure, Mokuba looked up at the witch and said: “Thanks for your help, Atem. I had so much fun brewing this potion, I definitely want to make more!”

From the corner of his eye, the boy noticed Seto walking up to him, and in the next moment he silently asked him to hand over the flask, which Mokuba did. Both him and Atem watched as he held up the potion right in front of his eyes for a few moments, as if analysing it. Soon enough, he passed it to his brother again, his closed eyes and smirk making his expression nothing but condescending. “Cute. Makes for a pretty bibelot, I guess.”

The other two – who, of course, had already been expecting something like that – knew it would be useless to argue, so they didn’t even try. Mokuba settled for clutching the little bottle in his hands, and then, as he remembered something, saying: “Ah! By the way, our invitation for the game still stands, right?”

Atem smiled warmly at him. “Of course. My friends were very excited when I told them we’d have more people to play. You have the address I wrote down for you, right?”

“Yep! We’ll see you Sunday, then.” He waved at the witch and turned to leave; beside him, Seto did the same, only to be stopped by Atem’s voice.

“Actually, I’d like to have a word with you, Kaiba. Is that okay?”

Mokuba looked up at his brother. He seemed a little surprised, but his tone was dismissive as he replied: “As long as you make it quick.”

Though he was curious, Mokuba didn’t want to just awkwardly stand there as Atem said whatever he wanted to tell his brother, so he pulled on Seto’s sleeve to get his attention, and said: “I’ll wait outside, nii-sama.” Seto opened his mouth, probably to say he didn’t have to leave, but the boy was already making his way out of the shop.

Outside, he leaned against the wall, absent-mindedly whistling some tune as he waited for his brother.

_I wonder what they’re talking about?_

 

* * *

 

 Standing in front of Atem, Kaiba impatiently tapped his foot on the ground. “So? What is it.”

The witch made a dismissive motion with his hand, before it went to rest on his hip. “Oh, it’s nothing important, really. I just wanted to let you know that I’ve been working on something for you, and I’d like you to come get it next week.”

Kaiba looked taken aback by his words. He raised an eyebrow at Atem, suspicion evident in his expression. “What’s that supposed to mean.”

“Exactly what I said.” Kaiba seemed more and more doubtful, and the witch tried to reassure him. “Look, I won’t go into more detail now, especially considering that Mokuba is waiting for you, but I do think you’ll like it.”

Unsurprisingly, Kaiba scoffed at that. “Sure. What is it? Another pebble with magical powers?”

“Just think about it. I promise it won’t be a waste of your time.”  Atem waited as Kaiba seemed to ponder it, until at last he replied:

“Whatever. I’ll _think_ about it.” Then he frowned, as if he’d just realized something. “Why couldn’t you just tell me about this on Sunday?”

“Well, I decided it would be better not to risk it. What guarantee do I have that you’ll actually show up, after all?”

Strangely, that seemed to… _upset_ Kaiba? His tone was bitter when he spoke again. “I said I’d be there. Do you think I’m a liar?” Before Atem could answer, Kaiba shook his head and did it for him. “Actually, never mind. I couldn’t care less.”

He took a step back, as if he intended to walk to the door, but Atem reached forward and touched his arm. Kaiba stopped dead in his tracks, eyes widening as he looked first at Atem’s hand and then at his face. The witch tried to read his expression, but it was nothing short of undecipherable. Still, he said: “It’s not that I think you’re a liar, Kaiba. It’s just that… you act like you do not care at all. I’m sure you’re aware of it. That’s why it would not be surprising if you ended up not going, especially since you were so adamant about your disinterest.”

After a moment of silence, their eyes locked and Atem’s hand still resting on the other’s arm – _strange that he hasn’t shaken me off yet_ – Kaiba conceded: “…Sure.” He leaned in closer to Atem, something intense yet still unidentifiable visible in his eyes. The witch stood his ground, staring back without faltering, though this sudden shift in attitude was… confusing, to say the least. Then, Kaiba blinked, apparently just realizing what he was doing, and he moved away again, shaking off Atem’s hand at the same time. “Do you always treat your customers like this?”

“Like what?”

“Like pointing the faults you see in them right to their faces.”

Atem tilted his head to the side a little, amused by the question. “I value honesty over avoiding trouble, Kaiba.”

The reply earned him a snicker. “How commendable.” He did seem a bit – dare he say – impressed, though. His hands moved up to straighten his collar. “Anyway, if that’s all, then I need to get going. Mokuba is waiting for me.”

“Of course.” Atem smiled at him. “So I’ll see both of you on Sunday.”

Kaiba simply nodded, and the witch watched him as he walked out the shop, pondering their exchange. It had been… _different_ from their previous interactions, in a way. And the expression on Kaiba’s face… Why couldn’t he read it? Wasn’t he supposed to be able do it effortlessly? The man was just a box full of surprises, apparently.

It was incredibly interesting.

Atem just _knew_ there was more to him than he let on, and he’d find out what it was.

 

* * *

 

“This is the place!”, Mokuba exclaimed, brandishing a piece of paper with a street name and number written in elegant calligraphy.

He and his brother stood in front of a small apartment block. Though the blue paint of the façade was worn out and faded, it was sprinkled with splashes of bright colours, from the numerous flower pots that seemed to be present on nearly every single balcony. The front door also seemed to have been recently painted, its uniform, pristine colour in blatant dissonance with the rest of the building. All in all, it was tidy enough not to be considered shabby.

Walking up to the front door, Mokuba rang the doorbell, and a minute later they were climbing the stairs up to the fourth floor, where a door had already been opened for them – by Atem, apparently, who welcomed them with a bright smile.

“Come in! Everybody else is already waiting for you.”

As he walked into the apartment, Kaiba did his best not to look at the witch. He was still shocked by his own attitude the last time they’d spoke. How long had he taken to shake Atem’s hand off his arm, for fuck’s sake? He just couldn’t understand how he hadn’t done it right away. He _hated_ contact, hated anyone touching him, hated even just shaking hands with another person. Mokuba was the one exception, of course, but then _that_ had happened and he was just not okay with it. Not to mention the fact that he suddenly found it harder and harder to keep his eyes away from the witch, especially now that he was wearing something different from what he’d previously seen, and-

_Just stop it already, will you?_

Shaking his head at his own incredibly irrational behaviour, he dug his hands into the pockets of his jacket, the fingers of his right hand brushing over a tiny object. The turquoise stone. He’d taken up the habit of carrying it with him, for some reason.

Atem led them into a room dominated by a large wooden table covered in tiny model landscapes that he recognized as RPG scenarios, though these seemed to be of way better quality than what he was used to seeing in the industry. Each setting, be it a forest, a dungeon, a mountain, anything, was modelled with painstaking detail and skill. If it was handmade, it was undoubtedly the work of a professional.

Sitting at the table was one of the strangest assortments of people Kaiba had ever seen. One or two of them did look normal enough. The others, though, not so much. At the head of the table sat a man with long, white hair. A girl playing with a couple figurines had patches of soft, light brown fur on her face and arms, and Kaiba could see two little curved horns sprouting out of her chestnut brown hair. A satyress, probably. Across from her sat a man with a very familiar hairdo, who Kaiba quickly recognized as Yugi Mutou. Though the hairstyle meant he could probably get mistaken for Atem from behind, that was where the similarities ended: other aspects like their facial features, skin tone, and eye colour were very different.

The five people sitting at the table looked up at the brothers as Atem introduced them. A man with messy blond hair – one of the two that seemed pretty ordinary – introduced himself as Jonouchi, and the others as Honda (a brown-haired, serious looking man), Ryou (the white-haired man), Anzu (the satyress), and Yugi. Kaiba didn’t really care about their names, but he knew both Mokuba and Atem would be mad at him if he didn’t even try to remember them. So he did put in _some_ effort in memorizing the four names he didn’t know.

Yugi awkwardly waved at him, as did Anzu and Honda, but Jonouchi was a lot more enthusiastic about it: “Man, I can’t believe we’ve got Seto Kaiba here! That’s just crazy. And his little brother, too! This’ll probably be one of our most interesting sessions in a while.” Then, to Kaiba’s brother: “Your name’s Mokuba, right? Nice to meet you, dude.”

Ryou walked around the table and up to them. “I’m so glad you want to play with us! We’re in the middle of a campaign right now, but you can join in without any problem.” His voice was soft and pleasant, and his expression somehow matched that perfectly. “We’ll create characters for you, and have you join the group. Oh! You’ll need some figurines, too! Well, I mean, it’s not really necessary, but it’s way more fun. Come on, I’ll show you what I have.” He gestured toward a number of glass displays lined along the wall, all of them filled with little character models. Up close, Kaiba could see that they were just as detailed as the model landscapes on the table. Mokuba seemed to have noticed that too: his mouth was open in amazement as he stared at the displays, before asking:

“Wow! These are amazing! Where did you get them?”

Ryou looked a little embarrassed as he replied: “Actually, I made them myself. It’s kind of a hobby turned into a job… I make these and sell them. But this is my personal collection.”

“That’s so cool! You’re really skilled, Ryou.” The man looked more and more flustered by the second, and he acknowledged the praise with a nervous chuckle.

A few minutes later, both Kaiba and Mokuba had picked their character classes and stats – Kaiba would be a dragon rider, and Mokuba chose to be a rogue – as well as a figurine for each of them. Unlike the rest of the group, whose tiny models had been made to look like them, they simply got a generic figurine from their respective class. Everyone was now sitting down at the table, ready for the game to start. Ryou quickly gave the new players a rundown of the campaign.

“As you may have already figured out, I’m the Dungeon Master. The current party has five people: Honda, a gunman, Jonouchi, a warrior, Anzu, a sorcerer, Yugi, a magician, and Atem, a paladin. So, the group is on a quest to defeat the Dark Lord Zorc… don’t ask about his origin, it’s a long story… and they’re currently headed to his castle. You can be, hm, a pair of travellers who join the party on the way. So they’ll get two new members…” Ryou started mumbling to himself, as if he was trying to figure something out. “The party now has seven people – wow, that’s a big group – so defeating Zorc shouldn’t be much of a problem, even if you’re low-level.” He clapped his hands once, and declared: “Alright! Game start!”

 

* * *

 

As they played, Atem took the opportunity to put a theory of his into practice. He believed that someone’s playstyle, in any game, could tell you a lot about the person themself. And, apparently, this fully applied to the two new players. Just like how Anzu or Yugi preferred to have more supporting roles, or how Jonouchi threw himself into battle without any second thought, Kaiba’s approach, while much more strategic and well thought out than Jou’s, was nothing short of aggressive, and he often seemed reluctant to help other players, except for his brother. His dragon was a heavy hitter, and he made full use of her power. Mokuba, on the other hand, preferred a more cunning, less direct strategy, in conformity with his chosen class. It was very interesting to see their personalities, or at least what Atem had seen of them, reflected in their playstyles.

“Alright, Kaiba, you can roll to attack now. If you get a critical, you can probably take out all three of them, I think.”

Atem watched as Kaiba rolled the dice, and, sure enough, got a high enough score to take out all the enemies with a powerful attack from his dragon. He smirked smugly as everyone else congratulated him.

At first, he’d acted completely disinterested in the game, not bothering to put too much effort into it, but Atem could tell he was _definitely_ faking it so he could keep his normal aloof façade on. To his immense satisfaction, he was later proven right: as the game went on, he’d gotten more and more into it, and now he was just as invested as all the others, if not more. As if to further confirm this, he said:

“I really like this dragon’s design.” Atem smirked. _He really must do, if he’s willing to admit it._

Jonouchi promptly agreed: “Yeah, Blue Eyes is awesome! Ryou told me the other day she was inspired by a friend of Atem’s.”

Ryou seemed a bit startled as he looked up from his numerous sheets of paper full of scribbles and numbers and replied: “Ah! Yes, she was. I don’t know her very well, you should ask Atem about that.”

The question came from Mokuba, also curious about it. “How did your friend inspire a dragon, Atem?”

“Well… It’s a little hard to explain, but I suppose you could say she’s a bit like a shapeshifter.”

“A shapeshifter who transforms into a _dragon?_ ” Mokuba was visibly amazed. “What’s her name?”

“As I’ve said, she’s not _exactly_ a shapeshifter, but yes, something like that. Her name is Kisara. She lives in Egypt, but she’s actually coming to Japan in a few weeks, along with some other friends of mine.”

Anzu suddenly joined in on the conversation. “That reminds me! When are Mai and Isis coming back from the States? We haven’t played with them in months, we should have a session with them when they get back.”

“I think next month?”, Yugi replied. “Mai’s tour ends in two weeks, but they said they were planning to stay there a bit longer.”

Atem turned to Kaiba – had he been already looking at him? – and said: “It would be a lot of fun to play with everyone. Would you two want to, as well?” Predictably, Kaiba didn’t answer, though he was still looking fixedly at Atem, but Mokuba nodded with enthusiasm. “And Shizuka hasn’t been coming either, busy as she is with her exams. So we definitely do need to plan something to get everyone together.”  

“Ah!” The exclamation had come from Jonouchi, who suddenly looked mildly panicked. “Shizuka! She’s probably already waiting for me! I gotta bounce, guys!” He turned to Honda, his tone pleading. “Hey man, you promised you’d give me a ride, didn’t ya?

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s go.” The two got up from their seats. “Sorry we have to cut this a bit short, but it’s already getting late anyway. We’ll have to finish the campaign next time.”  

 “Oh, you’re right! I have to go too, it’s almost time for my rehearsal! Bye, guys!” Anzu got up and left too.

“Well, seeing as the game’s over, we’re going too. Come on, Mokuba.”

The boy got up right after his brother, staying behind for a minute to thank Ryou and say goodbye to him and the others. As Atem still wanted to talk with Kaiba, he quickly followed their example.

Outside, he caught up with the two brothers, tapping Kaiba’s arm to get his attention. When he turned around and looked at him, he smiled. “So, did you like the afternoon?”

“If I liked wasting hours of my precious time with you and your geek squad? Pff. Of course I did.” His tone was, of course, dripping with sarcasm, but the witch knew fully well that it wasn’t sincere.

“And have you made up your mind about what I told you?”

Kaiba seemed, for some reason, to hesitate a bit before replying. “Who knows. If I feel like it.”

 _It wasn’t_ that _rude of a response, right? It’s a start._

“Well, I’ll be expecting you.” Then, to both Kaiba and Mokuba: “Anyway, thanks for coming! Have a nice evening.” He turned around, waved at them – only Mokuba waved back, predictably enough – and walked away.

As he walked, he thought about Kaiba’s ambiguous reply. If it hadn’t been outright negative, he felt like it was probably positive. He smiled to himself.

 _I’m sure I’ll see him this week._  

  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry if there are some silly mistakes on this one, but it's already been delayed more than a week and i really wanted to post it. i promise i'll go through it later and fix any mistakes! 
> 
> (by the way, i know nothing about d&d. if i somehow managed to commit some cardinal sin in the brief description of their game, please do tell me.)
> 
> thanks for reading, and don't forget to leave a comment~


	5. Threat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> back from the dead! sorry, things have been really chaotic! 
> 
> enjoy!

Kaiba was positively _fuming_ as he made his way to the witch’s shop.

It was his first visit since he’d gone back to Atem’s place to pick up his “surprise”. Which had turned out to be a little flask filled with light blue liquid. A _sleeping potion._

 _I know you have trouble sleeping,_ he’d said, with something that could have almost passed as worry evident in his eyes. _Nightmares, right?_

Kaiba knew it had to have been Mokuba, but he couldn’t find it in himself to be mad at the boy. Mokuba cared about him. Tried to help him in any way he could. If he’d let that little fact slip while talking to the witch, it certainly hadn’t been with malicious intent.

So, after some passive-aggressive banter, he’d ended up taking the potion, not really intending on using it, but at least showing it to Mokuba so he’d be happy. He’d already tried everything on the market. It wasn’t worth bothering with this “potion”.

Until curiosity had inevitably overtaken him, of course.

He’d ran tests to see if it was safe. No elaborate synthetic chemical substances or anything of the sort. It seemed to be have been filtered from something made with plants, mostly, and the tests hadn’t accused any known type of drug or poison.

He’d finally, after a lot of hesitation, drunk the damn thing.

And it had worked. Maddeningly, traitorously so.

It made him incredibly angry; that it was such a _relief,_ to be able to finally sleep without the fear of waking up terrified and gasping for air.

 So, this sequence of events had led him here, stomping along the sidewalk until he finally reached the shop. He did his best to ignore the jolt in his stomach when Atem looked up and greeted him with a radiant smile.

“Hello, Kaiba. So what can I do for you today?”

 _Lot of things you could do, actually._ Kaiba shut off that line of thought before it went too far, wondering, _once again,_ just what the fuck was wrong with him.

Besides, he had more pressing matters at hand. Namely how he was going to ask Atem for a refill of his stupid potion without hurting his own pride. But there really was no way around it; he decided the best thing to do was to just go ahead and put it as bluntly as he could. “I need more of that blue shit you gave me the other day.”

Atem’s expression brightened up _even more,_ if that was possible. “Ah, the sleeping potion? So it did work.”

As much as Kaiba hated to admit it, he knew he had no other choice. He looked to the side as he replied in a neutral tone. “Sure.”

“I’m glad,” said Atem, and Kaiba hated how satisfied he looked. “Worry not, I have more of it. Give me a second.”

He walked off into the back room, and Kaiba was left standing alone in front of the shop counter, pondering the bad life choices that had led him to this point. _I could just walk away right now,_ he mused. _Leave_ him _looking like an idiot._

The fact that he hadn’t moved from his spot when Atem returned was a good indicator of how this damned witch was managing to chip away at his normally solid resolve.

“Here,” Atem said, handing over a bottle. It was bigger than the first one. “This should last you for a month or so. But please,” – he grinned, a lopsided thing that looked incredibly attractive on him – “feel free to come back for more.”

Kaiba huffed at him, taking the potion and crossing his arms. That should have been it, but a little voice in Kaiba’s mind kept nagging at him until he finally gave in. “…Thanks,” he muttered.

The witch looked at him with wide eyes. “Sorry, could you repeat that?”

“I said _thanks._ Not saying it again.”

The next few moments were spent trying to decide whether to look away from the witch or watch the way his lips curved in a fond smile and try his hardest not to get flustered. He ended up not shifting his gaze one bit, _of course._

And then his expression changed again. “Kaiba.”

“What.”

“Do you… do you think you could tell me a bit about this problem of yours? Why you have such bad nightmares?”

Kaiba tensed immediately. No way in hell that he was going to talk about that. The witch noticed, of course.

“It’s alright if you don’t want to. I’m sorry for asking.”

But Kaiba sighed and shook his head, because it was _Atem,_ and Atem had the inexplicable power to make him feel almost at ease, even though he barely knew him. Kaiba was suddenly overcome by the urge of getting everything out of his chest, even though reason screamed at him that this was against all his principles, threatened the carefully constructed walls he’d built around himself out of necessity.

“Mokuba and I, our parents died when we were kids. We ended up in an orphanage because our relatives took our parents’ money and dumped us in that shithole. Life fucking sucked there. I knew I had to do something to get Mokuba out.” He took a deep breath. Atem listened attentively, crimson eyes fixed on Kaiba. “So, one day, this guy comes along. A rich, well-known businessman. Head of KaibaCorp. Gozaburo Kaiba.” The name still left a bitter taste in his mouth, even after all those years. “I challenged him to a game of chess. If I won, he had to adopt me and Mokuba. He was a champion at it, never in a million years did he think I’d be a match.”

“But you won,” said Atem, voice quiet.

“I did. And I thought all our problems were solved. We lived in a _mansion,_ now. Had everything we wanted. Or at least it seemed so, at first.” He smiled a bitter smile that was more of a scowl.  “Then he started _training_ me to be his successor. By that I mean having me study my ass off at all hours of day, not letting me sleep, beating me when I wasn’t up to his standards. Fucking _amazing_ father figure, huh?”

Atem looked positively horrified by then, but he kept going.

“I started plotting against him. A plan to get 51% of KaibaCorp’s shares and take it away from him. In the end, it did succeed, but I had to hurt Mokuba, _badly,_ for it to work.” His lips press together into a thin line. “I still hate myself for putting him though that. But I couldn’t see any other choice. I had to free myself of that bastard, and that was what it took.” And then, looking up, the corners of his mouth lifting into a small smile, even though his eyes are narrowed in anger. “I would be lying if I said it wasn’t incredibly satisfying to see him jump out of a window when he realized he’d lost.”

That was it. He’d kept it as short and blunt as he could, and he could already feel regret for even opening his mouth on the first place. For _trusting_ so easily. It had to have been a huge mistake.

Minutes of silence passed before Kaiba heard Atem’s voice. “I’m so sorry, Kaiba. I had no idea.”

He was going to snarl at the witch, to tell him _don’t you dare pity me,_ but there was no pity in Atem’s voice. Only genuine sorrow, like he really did _care._

And then there was a hand on his own, resting atop the counter. Kaiba almost started at the sudden contact, but he didn’t pull away.

“If there is anything I can do to help, do tell me. I’d be happy to.”

Kaiba let himself stay still for a few more moments, gaze fixed on Atem, taking in his words. But he eventually let his hand slip away, even though, if he were to be completely honest, he didn’t really want to. “…Yeah. Alright.”

As Atem nodded and Kaiba turned to leave, he couldn’t help but feel like maybe it hadn’t been a mistake. Maybe this was what he’d been needing all this time. 

 

* * *

 

 Over the next few weeks, Kaiba’s life became even more of a whirlwind than it had ever been. It seemed like all his free time was spent in that tiny shop, talking with Atem, or watching him organize shelves or brew his colourful potions or take care of his plants. He’d started playing games with him on the back of the shop, and fuck if Atem wasn’t the best match he’d had in years. Or _ever,_ actually. He really wasn’t used to losing after having no one at his level for so long, and yet he found he didn’t care as much as he should have. Yes, he still felt incredibly disappointed in himself whenever Atem won a game, still got pissed off about it – but it was just so much _fun_ to play with him that losing wasn’t so bad. The only game where the witch still hadn’t managed to win was chess, but then again, Kaiba was a master at it. And it was the only game he still felt like he couldn’t afford to lose.

He’d even met some more of his dumb friends. There was a couple, Mai and Isis, who’d apparently come back from Mai’s tour in the United States. Mai’s voice was _clearly_ not human – no human could sing like that, it was simply impossible – and when asked, she’d thrown him a wink and told him that she was a mermaid. Kaiba had been dumbfounded, pointedly staring at the visible lack of, well, a _fishtail,_ until Yugi had tapped him on the shoulder and explained a thing or two about mermaids. Isis, on the other hand, said she was a seer. And as much as Kaiba had wanted to scoff at her, it’d been pretty fucking hard to do so under the scrutiny of her piercing blue eyes. There was a certain edge to her that made him think she was probably speaking the truth, and that _necklace_ of hers made him uncomfortable for some reason. (He did end up scoffing at her, though. Couldn’t resist.) Her brothers also showed up one day, strangely seeming to share nothing in common with Isis but their dark gold skin tone and the strange _aura_ they seemed to carry with them. Kaiba scolded himself every time he thought about something stupid like that. _Auras._ What a joke.

Kaiba found himself spending more and more time with the mismatched group of people. He decided that he found the satyress and the blond, brash boy annoying. He liked to mock him just to get a reaction out of him, although Mokuba seemed to enjoy hanging out with him and the brown-haired guy, for some reason. The others were mostly ok to be around. Even though Isis made him feel somewhat _uneasy_ when she stared at him like she could see through his soul. And when she seemed to predict everyone’s next moves in whatever game they were playing.

It felt incredibly strange to be around people other than Mokuba or his employees. He was, at times, at a complete loss, that he chose to mask behind a thick layer of arrogance and smugness.

Atem was the only one who seemed to see right through it. Even when Kaiba leered at him, or mocked him about something, he wasn’t taken aback. Kaiba didn’t how to feel about this, or just _about the witch,_ in general.

It was all terribly confusing, but Kaiba found himself actually liking it. Deep down. Secretly. 

 

* * *

 

 Atem felt uneasy.

He moved around the shop, watering his plants, and trying to think of anything other than the rather strange visit he’d received earlier that day.

A good thing to think about was, of course, Kaiba. It was easy, too. His thoughts always seemed to go back to him, one way or another. Busy as he was managing KaibaCorp, it was rare to go a week without seeing him. He always had that attitude, always pretending like he’d much rather be anywhere else, and yet he came to the shop to be with Atem. Even hung out with his other friends. Atem didn’t know why he still felt the necessity to pretend like de didn’t care about anyone other than himself and Mokuba, but it was fine. He could clearly see it wasn’t true. Over time, he’d got more comfortable around him, not afraid to unabashedly stare at him or even rest a hand on his arm, on rare and cherished occasions. Atem felt his heart flutter every time it happened.

Yes, he knew he had it bad. Kaiba was so interesting, either when he launched himself on a rant about some topic he liked, or when he was playing, always so intense and focused on winning. He’d even begrudgingly started to help Atem out around the shop, mostly in small ways, when he thought the witch wasn’t looking. A glass flask back in its place. Some messy shelves reorganized just as they were before. Ingredients for whatever potion he was currently making positioned closer to the brewing stand as discreetly as possible. Atem hadn’t called him out on these gestures, but he deeply appreciated them.

He was broken out of thought when the doorbell chimed and a tall, lean figure made its way inside the shop. _Speak, or, well, think of the devil._

“Hey,” he greeted.

“Hello, Kaiba.” His tone wasn’t as welcoming or enthusiastic as usual. He frowned. Maybe telling him would help.

Maybe surprisingly, Kaiba immediately realized something was wrong. “What’s with you? Did something happen?”

Atem sighed, putting down the watering can and making his way to the counter. He propped up his elbows, leaning on it. “A man came by earlier. I had never seen him before, but he told he’d been sent by Pegasus.” Kaiba looked confused. “The painter. The one whose wife died a while ago. I mentioned it to you.”

“Ah, yeah. What about him?”

“The man said Pegasus needed my… _talents_ for something. He told me to go to his residence on a specific date, and that I would be handsomely rewarded. Nothing more.”

Kaiba crossed his arms, furrowing his brow. “That’s strange, to say the least. Don’t go.”

“Yes, that’s what I thought too. But I think I will go. Pegasus is a well-known figure in the magical circle, even now that he’s become so reclusive. And he suffered a lot with his wife’s death. I should at least try to help a fellow magic practitioner.”

“I mean, it’s your call.” He shrugged, seemingly hesitating a little before adding, “Just, well, be careful or whatever.”

A warm sensation filled Atem’s chest at those words, and he shot a thankful smile at the other man. “I will. Now,” he walked off from the counter, “what game are we playing today?” 

 

* * *

 

 Atem walked off the taxi, taking a good look at his destination. _I knew Pegasus lived in a big house, but…_ What he was looking at could, in fact, only be described as a castle. He didn’t have the time to properly admire it, though, because seconds later someone dressed in black – a butler – was approaching him. There was something… _off_ about him, though. Atem figured it out once he got closer. His features seemed weirdly blurred, as did his clothes, looking almost as if he’d been painted in brushstrokes. _Like a painting… that came to life._

The witch took a step back as he realized that was _exactly_ was it was. This butler wasn’t human. He was one of Pegasus’ creations, a being of ink animated by magic, with Pegasus as its puppeteer. The sheer eeriness of it sent a shiver down Atem’s spine.

The ink-butler didn’t speak; instead, he bowed, and graciously waved his arm in the direction of the castle’s main gate. More ink-butlers lined the entrance; Atem did his best not to look at them as he made his way inside.

The lavish interior of the mansion managed to distract him for a while. The hall was richly decorated, the walls covered in beautiful paintings, and intricate chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. On the opposite end of the room, two sets of white marble stairs converged in an elegant curve. The whole of it looked admittedly intimidating.

He was taken up the stairs and through a set of sculpted wooden doors, until he finally arrived at a grandiose dining hall. A long table dominated the division, dozens of chairs lined along its length. Only one person sat at it, though, at the end farthest away from the door. It was a man wearing a red suit, a curtain of silvery white hair falling around his face.

“Mr. Crawford,” Atem greeted, suddenly feeling incredibly awkward.   

Pegasus immediately looked up from the glass of wine he’d been fixated on, an expression of joy taking over his features as he turned to Atem. “Ah, Atem-boy!” _Atem-boy?_ He was _twenty-three._ “Welcome, welcome! Come and sit! And please, none of that “Mr. Crawford” nonsense. Call me Pegasus.”

Though hesitantly, Atem made his way over to the seat by Pegasus’ side, sitting down and politely folding his hands in front of him.

“Anything I can get you? Some wine, perhaps?”

“A glass of water would do just fine, thank you.”

Pegasus looked disappointed at that. “What a shame. But alright.” And then, without him having to do anything to get the ink-butler’s attention, it walked out of the room, returning moments later with a glass of water in hand. It left the glass on the table, and Atem got a good look at his indistinct features. It was as if Pegasus as decided not to give the face any detail, leaving it looking like an unfinished sketch. It was profoundly unnerving.

“Ah, admiring my creation?” Pegasus’ voice made Atem look away and back at the man. “Very useful, aren’t they? But they’re only dolls. Nothing like what I hope to achieve.”

That phrasing immediately made Atem wary. “What you… hope to achieve? I apologise, but I do not understand.”

“Atem-boy…” Pegasus brought the wineglass to his lips, and Atem couldn’t help but notice how the liquid looked exactly like blood. “You do know of the recent passing of my dear Cyndia, don’t you?” He continued as Atem nodded. “I was, and am, devastated. I loved her with all my heart... I didn’t know what to do.”

His expression had changed from almost childish glee to utter sorrow in a matter of seconds. Atem didn’t know how to feel. “My condolences, Pegasus. It was truly a tragedy.”

Pegasus sighed. “Yes, it was. A tragedy that I now seek to fix.”

“ _Fix?_ ” It couldn’t be.

“Indeed. I’m bringing my sweet Cyndia back from the grave. Isn’t it wonderful?” His tone was joyful again, but Atem could tell he was dead serious.

“Pegasus, you can’t- I’m sorry, but you can’t bring people back from the dead! Necromancy is forbidden for a reason!” Suddenly, he caught on to something he still hadn’t thought about. “Wait. If you wish to revive Cyndia, why did you even bring me here? I’m not a necromancer. I’m a witch.”

“Tsk, tsk.” Pegasus wagged a finger, as if scolding a misbehaved child. “Necromancy? No, no. Necromancy is far too risky and ineffective. I’m talking about something else.” He leaned in closer to the witch, who stood his ground without breaking eye contact. “I’m talking about the Millenium Items.”

 _What??_ Atem could only let his mouth fall open in shock. _How can he possibly know about the Items?_ Before he could open his mouth, Pegasus spoke again.

“Don’t bother, Atem-boy. I know you’re going to deny it. But the thing is, I know you and your family are connected to them. And I simply wish to borrow the Items so I can bring Cyndia back. After that, you can keep them, for all I care.”

Atem stood up, hands clenched into fists by his sides. “You don’t know what you’re dealing with, Pegasus. The Items will not help you.”

Pegasus’ expression changed again. Most of his face was hidden by his hair, but Atem could still see the furrow of his brows. “So you won’t help me?”

Crossing his arms, Atem decided the best approach to this was honesty. “I don’t even know where they are now. The last time I saw them was before I left Egypt, and that was years and years ago. I haven’t been involved in guarding the Items for more than a decade.”

“Ah. I see.” Pegasus moved his hand, swirling the wine inside the crystal glass. “Then I suppose you were indeed the wrong person to call. Not to worry, though. I will find another way.”

The certainty in his voice could have made anyone else shiver. Atem barely suppressed it. “I seriously hope you do not, Pegasus. Those Items are dangerous. You will only manage to hurt yourself even more.”

“Ah, but that is my problem, is it not?” He made a dismissive motion with his hand. “It was very nice to have you, Atem-boy. It’s a pity that you were not able to help.”

The butler moved in Atem’s direction, and he took that as his clue to leave. He turned around and walked out of the castle, extremely glad to be outside once again. Though he remained perfectly calm on the outside, his heart was pounding against his ribs.

_I need to call Mahad._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> feedback is always appreciated!~


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